With a lack of water in the soil, plant development slows down or stops. Therefore, proper watering of the garden, garden and individual plants on the site is very important. Whether you are using a modern irrigation system or watering in the old fashioned way, it is important to understand how often, when and what plants to water in your garden.
When to water the garden?
The ideal time for regular watering in heat and drought is a calm late evening, when the heat has subsided, there is a cool night ahead, and moisture evaporation is minimal. Let’s allow watering in the early morning, before the onset of heat. However, if the plant looks dehydrated on a hot day, it should be watered immediately by throwing a hose down to the roots and keeping the leaves out of the water and causing a burn.
Often gardeners ask whether it is necessary to water the vegetable garden, garden and flower garden if it rains. To check how many centimeters the rain has soaked the soil in depth, stick your finger into the soil. One big rain in a hot season is not at all enough to wet the soil at the depth where the roots of most vegetables and ornamental plants are located. Usually, the soil can be properly soaked, not heavy, but long rain, which lasts several hours in a row. A simple rain gauge, which is installed in any open place on the site, will help to measure the amount of precipitation.
When watering is needed urgently
The first sign of dehydration of a plant is lost turgor, sluggish leaves and buds. If you do not make up for the loss of water at this stage by watering the plant abundantly, the leaves and buds will begin to turn yellow, dry and fall off, and soon the process will spread to the entire above-ground part of the plant. As long as the plants receive at least a small amount of moisture from the ground, the plant in most cases can still be reanimated by soaking in water and watering. Drying out of the root system means the death of the plant
Watering plants in the heat: what to water and how often?
If the weather is hot without rains, and the resource of water, time and labor is limited, then, alas, it will not work to water the garden abundantly and efficiently, the garden and the flower garden. This situation arises in our country during a drought, when local authorities announce a ban on watering garden plots with a hose (how much can you water by carrying water in a watering can from the tap to the right place in the garden?). During such periods, you have to set priorities and adhere to them strictly.
Watering is necessary for the following group of plants:
- freshly planted seedlings in open ground
- newly transplanted plants
- plants in pots (especially small ones) and hanging baskets
- plants in greenhouses
- new crops and freshly laid grass bales
- coastal and aquatic (aquatic) plants
In the second most important place for watering are plants that will not bloom or cannot successfully bear fruit without watering, as well as any other plants, depending on your goals (for some, these are vegetables and berries, and for others, ornamental plants).
It should also be remembered that in hot periods watering will definitely be required for areas located on light, sandy soils, because they dry out faster than heavy clay soils.
Watering Properly: How to Water?
Abundant and rare watering is preferable to stingy and frequent. A small amount of water penetrates only into the upper layer of the soil, contributing to the development of weak roots located at the surface, which are the first to suffer from drying out of the soil and from frost. The development of a strong and deep root system that can support the plant in the harshest weather conditions requires water to penetrate deep into the soil around the plant when irrigated. The correct depth of soil moisture for watering is about 60 cm.
Before watering the garden and the plants in the flower beds, loosen the soil around the plant and make a small hole so that the plant is in the middle of the depression. All water from irrigation will remain in this hole and, as it is absorbed, will get to the roots of the plant, and will not spread over the dry soil. With the arrival of rains, it will be possible to huddle the plant by leveling the hole with the surface level in order to eliminate stagnation of water around the plant. Where watering is not required, try as far as possible not to disturb the soil during a drought: any loosening contributes to additional evaporation of moisture.
Be sure to use mulching, which helps to preserve moisture in the soil and significantly reduces the required frequency of watering. Read more about mulching techniques.
Irrigation systems
If you are using an irrigation system, invest in a modern drip or jet system instead of the traditional sprinkler. The water delivered by such systems appears at the right time (late in the evening, even in your absence), thanks to the timer on the tap, it gets exactly as intended to the roots of the plant and is absorbed to the last drop, without being wasted on evaporation and watering the neighboring weeds.
Use the hose and sprinklers to water young crops of grass or freshly rolled lawn every day. Place a rain gauge (or just a glassware) in the spray area and finish watering when the water level reaches 13 mm (less will not be useful, and more will be wasted). Read our article on how to care for your lawn in hot weather.
An excellent watering agent is rain and melt water. Set up barrels in your garden to collect rainwater. These barrels are connected directly to a pipe that receives water from gutters located around the perimeter of the roof of a house, garage or greenhouse. The barrels are installed on an elevation so that you can substitute a watering can under the opening tap or connect a watering hose to it.